The Memory of Forgetting
by Eternity's Angel of Mercy
Summary: A year after the final battle with Errol, Jak and Daxter are part of the large Restoration Committee, trying to bring order back to Haven City under Ashelin's rule.But Jak's relationship with Keira is on the rocks and Ashelin's begun to look very enticing
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not a damn thing. So no threats to sue, h'okay?

Chapter One

Tensions

* * *

The streets had been effectively fixed up by the end of the year, much to the efforts of Jak. He had taken control of the restoration efforts, much to the surprise of almost everyone, and concentrated on nothing besides helping the city in the daylight hours. Nighttime was devoted to light rest and helping his childhood friend and steady girlfriend, Keira, restore old zoomers that were destroyed in the war. They then sold them cheaply, helping in their own way to better the economy.

Ashelin, however, was involved in none of this. She was forced to watch as toppled buildings were cleared away and then rebuilt from the base up from her renovated palace. The Council had advised her against going into the streets and working one-on-one with the people. Some were still upset about her father's rein of terror and thought the apple didn't fall far from the tree.

"Ashelin," a rough voice murmured from behind her, "did you hear what I said?"

"Hmm?" she asked without turning from the window. Her hand was fiddling with one of the dreaded strands of her crimson hair, her emerald eyes distant. She flinched when a calloused hand laid itself on her bare arm, vying for her attention. "What is it?" she asked, finally turning away from where a construction was being overseen by the blond savior of Haven himself. Torn stood before her, concern flashing through his blue eyes.

"Ashelin, are you all right?" he asked, voice rasping. His hand slipped from her upper arm down to her elbow, resting there as if a reminder of all those caresses he had laid upon her in the past. "You haven't heard a single word I've said, have you?"

"Sorry," she whispered, pulling out of his grip. "I've had a lot on my mind. Listening to the catalog of wartime spending is exhausting on a good day; right now it's damn near impossible." She shimmied out from in front of him, trying to put some distance between them. Ever since their days in Crimson, it seemed like Torn had become rather attached to her. They had been bed partners then, or fuck-buddies as her father had so coarsely called them. Torn still seemed to think that there was something there.

There wasn't.

Torn glanced out the window and to where Ashelin had been staring with such fascination. What he was were crewmen working on a rather large business establishment, being instructed by Jak who zoomed around them on his jet board. He glanced back at Ashelin, who was running a hand over her face and sauntering to the door.

"I need to go get a shower-" she was saying tiredly when Torn interrupted suddenly.

"Have you told him yet?"

Ashelin paused, one hand on the door, the other falling away from her face. Her voice was suspicious as she ventured, "Tell who?"

Torn laughed humorlessly. "Don't play games, Ash. I know you a hell of a lot better than that. But, if you insist on me spelling it out for you, I mean Jak."

Ashelin stood ramrod still, not moving. "What would I possibly have to tell him?"

Torn rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Really, Ashelin. It's not like you're trying to keep it a secret. You stare at him whenever he's unaware and avoid his direct company when he's in the room. It's pretty damn obvious to those of us around you two."

"I do not avoid anyone," Ashelin argued, turning so that her dark eyes were glaring at him.

"Oh, not in the normal sense of the word, no. But you refuse to carry on conversations that last longer than the average song when you're with him. That's not like you, Ashelin."

"Are you trying to suggest that I have feelings for that damn boy whose best friend happens to be a rat?"

Torn grinned, resisting the urge to tell her just how hot she looked when she was pissed off. Her full bottom lip tended to pout much in the way little dogs did, and her whole stance radiated dominatrix. But because Torn was so attached to his life and didn't want to lose it anytime soon, he decided not to say that. Instead he leaned back against the windowsill, murmuring, "I'm not suggesting anything. I'm stating quite plainly. Look, Ash," he added gently, or as gently as his gutted voice allowed, "if you ever need to take out any tension and lover boy still hasn't figured it out, I'm always here for you."

Ashelin made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat, turning for the door and storming out. The slammed door made the glass window shake in its casing and Torn chuckled to himself.

He had known it would only be a matter of time before the tough-as-nails commander fell for the holier-than-thou renegade. 

…

Jak wiped the sweat from his brow, hopping off of his jet board to go assist some idiot who hadn't secured the link for the titanium bracers. Daxter was already there when Jak managed to weave his way between workers milling about.

"Of all the stupid, stupid things you could have done-"

"What happened?" Jak interrupted his orange friend, leaning down to help the man keep the titanium sides from caving in.

"I must not have secure the bolts correctly, sir," the halfwit mumbled, looking confused. "But I could have sworn they were on there tight!"

"Well I guess you were wrong," Daxter murmured with a snide lilt to his voice. Jak rolled his eyes before booting Daxter out of the way. Aside from an affronted sound from the ottsel, he went quiet.

"Maybe you should go get some water and take a break once we get the bolts secured," Jak intoned to the man, lowering himself into the pit and helping him brace the walls while tightening the bolts. "The last things we need are tired workers."

He was mentally berating himself for even taking on this task –he originally signed up for reparations for the reason of rebuilding, not overseeing. This was more along Daxter's line of expertise; standing by and shouting orders.

As if reading his mind, the little ball of bright fuzz strolled up to him and murmured, "This is the life… getting paid for watching others build things. If only we had a pool girl in a skimpy bikini to carry around an umbrella to block out the sun," he grumbled, more to himself than to Jak. "You'll have to suggest that to Ashelin for me when you give her the report."

Jak smiled at that before grimacing. The worst part of the job occurred when he was finally allowed to go inside the cool, sun-free palace: reporting to Ashelin. She had become much more snappish lately; she was short with him most of the time, cold at best. Jak had originally chalked it up to worries about their war debts, but the economy had begun to boom once jobs were created in rebuilding ventures.

It just made no sense as to why she'd become so damn temperamental!

Jak pushed it from his thoughts and went back to work.

…

The hot spray of the shower put Ashelin at ease as she slid into the step-down tub. She had never bothered with installing a screen to separate her from view; no one entered her bedroom besides the occasional high-ranking soldier and Torn. Neither of the two worried her too much; after all, it's not as if the soldiers had never seen a naked woman before, and Torn had seen her nude many a time. Ashelin was proud of her figure and was not afraid or offended to have people stare at it.

Or so she had originally thought. However, when she turned her face to the room and found Jak waltzing through her door, scanning the room for her and calling out her name, cold panic gripped her. What the hell was he doing in her room! Did he not hear the roar of the shower and realize what was going on?

Obviously not, because when he came around the sloped wall and into the small side room, which served as her shower area, his face was as surprised as hers.

There was a long, shocked silence in which the two stared blankly at one another. "I-" Jak began, eyes most definitely not on her face.

"Get out!" Ashelin yelled, a trace of molten hatred in her tone. He stood there, as if unmovable. At least now his eyes were one hers. Ashelin, in an attempt to get him out of the room, reached for her gun holster –laying on the toilet just beside the tub- and pulled her blaster out in record speed, aiming it directly at him. 

What her words did not accomplish, her gun did. He skirted out of the room quickly, leaving Ashelin alone once again and suddenly wishing she'd had that shower screen put in.

Ashelin tossed the gun onto the pile of her evening wear, which served as dinner attire for the formal meeting that was to be held later that night. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling her heart beating in a frantic drum solo. "Fuck," she muttered, turning off the water and grabbing a towel. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she chanted softly as she toweled off her hair and then body. She quickly slid into her slinky little black dress that managed to cover everything from breasts down to her mid-thigh, but was tight enough that it left nothing to the imagination. It was once one of her favorite dresses to wear on seduction missions while she was still a Crimson. It had served her well as an undercover agent; although once her face was tattooed it became pretty hard not to notice she was with the Guard.

As usual, Ashelin didn't bother with a bra but did slip on a pair of black panties that could hardly even be considered underwear. She thought seriously about taking her gun into the adjoining room with her; she knew Jak would be there and she was not in the mood to deal with him.

some snarky part of her brain commented, the other side of her muttered angrily as she grabbed her bag and slipped on her black pumps. She stalked angrily into the next room where Jak was waiting. He was looking at the door as if seriously thinking about bolting for it. "Report," she snapped, watching as he turned to her with a strange expression in his eyes. 

The look, however, was masked quickly and he turned to her with his mouth drawn into a firm line. "Rebuilding in this sector is going smoother than expected. Everything has gone off without a hitch. Some men seem to have been ill-trained for their positions, however, and I was wondering if you would give me the ability to reroute certain members to other duties."

Ashelin was inwardly thankful for his quick assessment and his steady eyes. Not once did his gaze leave hers. "Are there others to fill their positions?"

"Yes. More qualified members, in fact."

Ashelin nodded. "Permission granted. Is that all?"

Jak was silent for a time, his gaze falling to the ground before an apologetic smile slid across his face. "Actually, Daxter has a small request."

"Oh Precursors," Ashelin rolled her eyes, hands going to her hips. "All right, what does his majesty Orange Lightening have to ask? A throne and an endless line of bare-breasted ladies serving him exotic delicacies?"

Jax tried to stifle his laughter but the mirth shone through in those large, beautiful eyes. Ashelin found herself smiling despite her attempt not to. "No, but I'm sure if he had thought of it he would agree it was his due reward… no, he wants a woman in a bikini to carry an umbrella for him to protect his fur from the sun."

Ashelin scoffed. "Tell him that Tess would kill him if I happened to slip that into one of our future conversations."

Jak smiled, nodding. "Well… goodnight, then, commander." He turned, going for the door. Ashelin, however, suddenly felt the need to stop him. It bothered her slightly that she had been so eager to see him go just seconds before, but now…

Now it felt like it had during the war. It felt like they were on the same wavelength, like they were working toward the same goal. They were joking together, smiling, the tension had slipped, if just for a moment. And furthermore, above all else in Ashelin's mind, it felt like they were friends again.

Ashelin reached out, grabbing Jak by the arm and halting his progress. He stiffened, turning to her with an indeterminable expression on his chiseled features.

"Wait, Jak… I have to attend some stupid dinner party with the council members… I was supposed to bring a member of the restoration committee with me. Since you're here," she began evenly, releasing his arm, "would you like to accompany me?"

* * *

Author's Note:

I just _despise _first chapters. It always makes me so anxious to see how much people hated it. ;) Anywhoo, this would be my very first Jak fanfiction, and it **IS NOT**, I repeat, **IS NOT FOR CHILDREN**. I am one of those oddities - an adult (-snigger- yeah, I will officially be an adult in three months, woot.) who adores the Jak and Daxter series. So, as you could probably tell from the first chapter, things are going to get pretty hot and heavy, and eventually this will be bumped up to an M rating.

Please review! Please?

Love love,

Lie

Megan


	2. Chapter 2

* * *

Chapter Two

Dinner Plans

* * *

Jack watched Ashelin's face as she posed the question. There was a sort of quiet desperation behind her eyes, though she was doing her best to seem cool and aloof. Why did she do that? _Though_, Jack reasoned, _I suppose that's all part of her appeal. The dominating edge, the distance..._

"Sure," Jack finally agreed. "Let me run by my room and change."

Ashelin nodded, dropping his arm. "Take a shower, too," she added, scrunching her nose up. "You smell like sweaty men."

Instead of making a sarcastic comment, Jack just smiled. "You know you like it, Ash." He turned for the door, his heart hammering in his chest. Was he _flirting_ with the governor of Haven City? Precursors, he needed to get out of here. He needed to find Keira and bang her a few times or something, get his mind back in place...

Ashelin snorted. "Meet me at the board room downstairs when you're done. The dinner meeting is in an hour, so don't be late."

"'Course not," he responded, quickly departing from the room.

* * *

Keira sat on the closed toilet lid, watching as Jak showered. She was still naked from their little romp only moments before, but she looked far from pleased.

"What do you mean you accidentally walked in on her in the shower?" Keira questioned, her expression cold.

"I went in to report to her, just like I do everyday, and she just happened to be in the shower." Jack lathered up his arms and chest, the hot water searing his flesh. He glanced over at Keira and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Keira shook her head, her long sea-green hair shimmering in the light from the bathroom window. "It just seems a little odd, Jak. I mean, the way you two act around each other recently. She used to be that clingy, holier-than-thou plague that seemed to crop up and attempt to take you away from me."

"Clingy?" Jak repeated, confusion coloring his words.

"Okay, so not clingy," she yelped, exasperated. "Just... every time she was near you, she just gave off these vibes... like every word was an innuendo, like every glance she was undressing you."

"She did?" Jak quipped, rubbing shampoo through his hair. "I never noticed."

"Well of course not, you're as unobservant as the male species comes," she muttered. "But now she doesn't do that anymore... and it makes me wonder if she finally got what she wanted from you..."

Jak turned, looking at Keira. She had her legs curled up on the seat with her, her chin resting on her knees. Her big green eyes were downcast and she refused to look at him.

"Keira..." Jak sighed, rinsing his hair out and then turning the shower off. He climbed out of the shower and tied a towel around his waist. Lowering himself in front of her, he murmured, "Hey... c'mon, Keira. I wouldn't do that to you. I can't... I couldn't lie to you like that. Ashelin and I... nothing has happened between us except that one, solitary kiss you were witness to. Even that was out of gratitude for saving Haven, not sexual feeling."

Keira nodded, though she didn't seem to reassured. Jak tilted her head up with his forefinger, making her meet his eyes. "Keira, what will make you feel better?"

Keira was silent for a time before she lowered her legs to the floor and leaned forward, hugging him. "Don't go with Ashelin tonight. Stay here with me."

Jak closed his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. He held Keira to him but whispered, "I can't, Keir. They need a member of the restoration committee and that is me. I am the only one on the committee Thorn and Ashelin trust."

Keira released him, nodding vague. "'Kay." She got to her feet, stepping around him, and turned the shower on. She stepped under the spray and closed the privacy screen; something she had never done when Jak was around.

Jak shook his head, trying not to curse, and headed to the bedroom. He dressed quickly in a pair of black pants and a white, nondescript shirt. Wearing the plain teeshirt made it suddenly evident to him that he had been benefiting from the restoration each day. His muscles had defined and chest broadened.

Jak stepped into his shoes and headed out of the room – only to practically run into Tess and Daxter. The two little Ottsels skittered out of the way, Tess giggling and Daxter yelling, "Hey, buddy, watch where you're – oh, Jak! Where are you off to this fine evening?"

"Dinner meeting with Ashelin," he said quickly, trying to get down the hall. He'd be late if people kept pestering him.

"Ooooooooo," Daxter teased, winking at Tess. "Is Jak two-timing? Good job, my boy. I knew you'd figure out how the play the field eventually."

"Daxter, that's mean!" Tess exclaimed.

"Well, Tess baby, what's he supposed to do?" Daxter asked, tickling Tess under her chin. "I mean, he can't have the most beautiful, loving and compassionate girl in the world... 'cause I've got her."

"Awwww, Daxie!" Tess cooed, leaning into him and stroking his fuzzy ear. "Come on, lets go back to the room."

Daxter glanced over his shoulder at Jak, winking. "Works every time," he mouthed before following Tess down the hall.

Jak shook his head, muttering, "Damn ottsels."

* * *

Ashelin was waiting for him outside of the board room, her eyes scanning over the hallway in what looked like annoyance. When Jak approached she let out a sigh of relief. "Jak, thank Precursors. I was about to have to go in alone and tell them my restoration committee member got hit with a two-by-four and died."

Jak snorted. "Was that the best you could come up with, Ashelin?"

Ashelin shrugged a perfectly rounded shoulder, the line of her collar bone becoming suddenly exaggerated. Jak's eyes were drawn to it, but he quickly diverted his eyes before she could notice.

"What took you so long?" Ashelin asked as they entered the room. Council members were scattered everywhere; a few that Jak recognized, but mostly not. Samos and Torn stood near the front of the table and looked as though they were in the middle of a heated debate.

"Woman troubles," Jak answered simply.

"Oh?" Ashelin prodded, turning to look at him. "Trouble in paradise, I see... What has your dear, darling love up in arms?"

Jak wondered if he should lie or change the subject. He thought about it for a moment before answering plainly, "You."

Ashelin broke into a sneaky smile. "Really, now?" Ashelin turned to face Jak, asking coyly, "Now why would your darling find me threatening."

Jak snorted. "Are you really asking me that? Look at you, Ashelin. You make super models envious. But, anyway, Keira is convinced that she has something to worry about. Like you are trying to steal me from her."

Ashelin only grinned. "Well... perhaps she has reason to worry." Before Jak had the chance to respond, Ashelin turned around and called, "Okay, let's start this meeting. If everyone could take their seats, please." There was a flurry of motion as everyone turned to their seats. Then, Ashelin continued. "We are joined by the chief Restoration Committee member, Jak, today. Jak, if you could take the seat beside Torn, please."

Jak slid into the seat beside Torn. Torn offered him a quick first-bump and, "Welcome to three hours of hell."

Jak grinned. "As long as I have you here, hell won't be too terribly bad."

Torn tried to stiffle his laughter. "That sounded potentially homosexual, and I would like you to know that I, my man, am not into you like that."

"Too bad," Jak continued the banter, "'cause, you know, Keira just isn't quite doing it for me anymore."

"Try Ashelin," Torn rebutted easily. "She is exactly what you need and I am sure she wouldn't hesitate to give you a few good rides between your shifts."

That silenced Jak. The two men sat quietly as the committee around them threw out restoration suggestions and banter.

* * *

"Jak, do you have a minute?"

Jak turned, feeling his heart beginning the thump madly again. He had tried getting out of the board room without her spotting him. Yet, as most things went, Jak was shit out of luck.

She was striding toward him, the Temptress, the red haired vixen, the Lilith of legend. Her body was perfect; the curves and the thin, minuscule waist. She had to have removed a few ribs to get a figure like that one. There was no other explanation.

And that _dress._ Precursors wept, Jak needed to get away from her. He needed to get away from her before he said something – or, Mar forbid, _did_ something – that would get him in some serious trouble. "Ashelin, I-"

"Need to get back to your emotionally unstable girlfriend?" she filled in for him, winking. "I know, I know. I was just wondering who you had in mind for taking over your position. I wanted to bring it up during the dinner, but those damn committee old-farts never let me get a word in edge-wise."

Jak nodded. "I was actually thinking of letting Daxter take over for me. He's much more fitted to sitting on the sidelines and shouting orders."

"And verbally abusing everyone in sight," Ashelin added with a smirk. "No. There is no way I am letting the weasel thing take over the process. That's why-"

"Ashelin, I don't-"

"Let me finish," Ashelin interrupted. "That's why I am letting Torn take it over."

Jak's eyes widened. "Really? Has he agreed?"

"Not yet," Ashelin grinned, "but he will. He is just itching to get out there and start doing some manual labor. I mean, after seeing how buff you've gotten after some time in the sun," she added with a wink. "After all, you're his main competition in the lady department."

Jak felt the beginnings of foreboding creep upon him. He needed to leave. He needed to get away from her _right now._ But he couldn't. "He's got you, why would he need anyone else?"

Ashelin's smile widened. "Don't think you know everything that goes on behind closed doors. Mine have not housed Torn in about six months."

With that, she turned from him, sauntering toward the door. "Tomorrow, Torn takes over your active duties. You may do as you see fit. Work on whatever sight you prefer and make sure it's done well and quickly."

"Yes, ma'am," Jak said, more to himself than her. And even as he worried about Keira -alone in his room three floors above them- he couldn't help but watch Ashelin's shapely derrière as she left.

Author's Note:

I know, it's been forever. Forever forever forever. But here's an update for you. :D

Love love,

Eternity


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Problems Arise

* * *

Jak was a lot of things, but he was certainly not _stupid_. He knew that his lithe little girlfriend would not be happy with him when he got back to their tiny apartment. He knew she would be lying in bed, feigning sleep, or sitting by the fireplace with a bottle of wine, stewing in her tremulous anger.

He honestly hoped for the latter. For whatever reason, Keira was much less annoying when she was pissed off and on her way to drunkenness.

Jak took a quick detour out of the palace and down the street where a vendor was peddling flowers to no one who cared. The merchant seemed surprised when Jak came to a stop in front of him and handed him some money. "I need something that says _I'm sorry, _but that looks like something I would pick out on my own," he said, allowing the annoyed smile on his face to even into something almost pleasant.

The merchant was ecstatic to be of help. No one in Haven had so much as looked at his flowers for months. People were too busy or too poor to care about giving flowers to loved ones. The ones who did care enough picked them from his field in the dead of night, harvesting roses and leaving nothing but bloodied thorns.

"Why type of girl is she, sir?" the peddler pressed, eyes glinting in excitement.

Jak paused, thinking. What kind of girl was Keira? She was an inventor above all. She was good with her hands – in more ways than one. She was cute, with her upturned nose and aqua-green tresses. But what kind of girl was she?

"Um."

The man stared at him expectantly. "New romance?"

New by, like, five years. "Something like that. Can you just make it roses and we'll call it good?"

The man dipped his head, taking the few roses he had in stock and tying them at the base with a few sprigs of baby's breath. "Good luck, sir," the merchant intoned, sounding pitying.

"Thanks," Jak muttered, more to himself than the merchant, and turned to head back into the palace. With roses on his side, there was no way he could go wrong.

…

Keira was, oddly, in neither place he expected her to be.

The girl was dressed in a pair of silk pajamas, padding around the large, open kitchen just off of the entry way. She was cooking, which wasn't entirely odd, but the smells coming from the oven were. It was like a volcano of chocolate and peppermint had exploded in the small suite, filling it with the most amazing smell.

Keira turned to him, a small smile on her face. She was wearing makeup, another oddity. "Hey you. You're back early."

"It was just a dinner," Jak began hesitantly. Her mood was too blasé, she was too calm. It was completely unlike the Keira he had grown up with, an even less like the one he had been banging for months.

Keira noticed the flowers and perked up. "Are those for me?"

"Yeah," he began, trying to smooth out his voice. He cleared his throat, stepped into the kitchen, and handed the flowers toward her. "I'm sorry I left you up here. I know you wanted to spend time together. I wanted to, too." _Liar_.

Keira seemed to melt at the words, taking the bunch of multicolored roses in one hand, using the other to pull Jak toward her. She hugged him tightly, lips brushing against his neck in feather-soft kisses. "You're too sweet."

_I'm really not, _he thought miserably._ If you had any idea the thoughts I have_… "You know me, sweet," he attempted to joke. Pulling away he motioned toward the oven. "What's that?"

"An old recipe of mine – I can't believe you don't remember the brownies!"

Jak tried to remember a time when Keria made anything that wasn't low fat, vegetarian, and otherwise tasteless. It began to hurt his head thinking that far back, so he stopped. "Right, uh, the brownies…"

Keira only smiled, turning back to the kitchen. She searched around under the sink for a vase and, coming up with none, let out a sigh. "I guess a glass will have to do?"

"Sorry," Jak apologized, not really sure what he was saying sorry for.

She shook her head, looking amused. "No need to apologize, weirdo." She went about getting the roses prepared in a large glass. They looked absurd and like they would topple over at any minute. Keira didn't seem to mind though. What had she said one? It's the thought that counts?

Women were insane.

Keira hummed to herself while she went through the kitchen, cleaning this, straightening that. She checked the brownies and, satisfied, pulled them out of the oven. The brownies were in an obnoxious heart-shaped mold which almost made Jak roll his eyes.

"Ice cream?" Keira asked suddenly.

"Ice cream?" Jak repeated stupidly.

"With your brownie, dummy," she chuckled, going into the freezer and pulling out a massive carton of chocolate ice cream.

"Sure, but I think you're trying to give me a cardiac arrest," Jak replied, moving toward the small table between the open kitchen and living room.

"You know, they say chocolate is an aphrodisiac," Keira purred seductively as she worked in the kitchen. She brought a plate over to him with a half-heart of brownie, a scoop of ice cream, and more chocolate sauce than Jak could rationalize as logical.

"I don't think they meant a liter of chocolate sauce," he murmured, eyebrows knitting together. "What's going on, Keira?"

She batted her eyes innocently. "Who said anything was going on? I really wanted to do something nice for you. After all, you slave away in the hot sun all day, rebuilding, and then come home and help me remodel zoomers out of scraps. You're overworked."

"Maybe," Jak began hesitantly, taking a bite of the chocolate explosion that was dessert. The brownie was delicious, but it was just soft enough to clog his mouth so he wasn't able to respond to Keira's next words.

"I will be telling Ashelin as much. I made an appointment to speak with her – can you believe she has a secretary to make appointments for her?"

Jak coughed, choking on the brownie lodged in his throat. When he finally had enough air to breathe he gasped, "You're what?"

"I'm seeing Ashelin tomorrow and telling her she's overworking you. You need to help me with the zoomers, not run around building things. What experience do you have building, anyway?"

"Keira-"

"No, Jak," Keira replied coolly, her tone level and as sweet as the brownie in front of him. "You need to choose because working both jobs is making you cranky and pissy all the time. I'd like to have some time for us, too, by the way."

Jak couldn't believe what he was hearing. _He _was pissy all the time? _He _was cranky? "Keira, you have no right to make those decisions," he finally said, feeling the anger creeping up. He clenched a fist to try to keep it back. "Between rebuilding homes and businesses, and rebuilding zoomers, which do you think is a little more important?"

Keira flushed, her voice rising in pitch. "You don't think what I am doing is important?"

"Not as important as getting people into houses so they can take care of their families!" Jak yelled back.

Keira was shaking with rage, but so was Jak. He saw a flash of purple lightning flicker across his clenched fist and forced himself to breathe calmly.

"Let me make this easy for you," Keira simpered, "you get to choose, right now, if you want to keep rubbing elbows with Ashelin, or if you are committed to making our relationship work."

Jak's jaw locked as he watched Keira's face. He felt the beast inside of him, the eco freak, stir in anger, lusting after destruction. "You've lost your fucking mind, Keira," he growled and there was something else in his voice. It was darker and harsher.

Something like fear passed over Keira's face but was masked quickly. "So that means you choose her?"

The corner of his mouth twitched up without his realizing. He was smirking at her, the purple flickers around his fingers branching up to his wrists. "You've got a nice ass, Keira. But I'm not quitting my job helping this city just for a nice piece of ass."

"Get out," Keira whispered, standing and moving toward the bedroom.

Jak felt the freak yearn to lunge after her, to throw her into the wall. Instead he gripped the edges of the table, the metal fracturing and crumpling under his force. He tossed it aside, the dessert plate shattering against the wall and leaving a chocolate mess in its wake. He stormed out of the suite, his anger lashing through the air around him.

He slammed the door, relishing in the fact that he could practically taste Keira's fear following him.

* * *

Author's Note:

I hope I can break the habit of not updating on this story aside from every three years… that's depressing. :)

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed Chapter Three! Leave me some love in the comments.

Love love,

E.


End file.
